The Stray

-

“Well, hello there!”

Momiji tipped her umbrella against her shoulder and pulled up the hem of her uniform skirt so it wouldn't drag through the water pooled on the sidewalk. She crouched by a nook in the wall outside her school and extended her hand into the rain, her finger wagging. Inside the nook, a tiny, wet furball growled and bristled, batting a nervous paw at Momiji's friendly hand.

She smiled and shuffled closed, spreading her hand out.

“Come on, now,” she said quietly, “You must be freezing in this rain. Come on.”

She wiggled her fingers playfully, her smile widening when the tiny creature eased itself into tentatively patting her hand. Slowly, Momiji coaxed him out of the nook and under her umbrella, “There you are! Aw, you're a cute little guy~!” She wrapped him up in her lap, because he was freezing, then stood and coddled him until his shivers ceased and the motor-like purring began.

“Oh, you're so cute,” Momiji giggled, rubbing the tips of his orange ears with her finger, “I wonder if Mr. Kunikida would mind if I brought you home.”

She pondered the idea as she walked down the street, balancing her umbrella on her shoulder to ward off the gray rain.

--

Crouching in the window seal, Kusanagi slid open the window to Momiji's room and poked his head inside. He had come in to escape the rain, and see Momiji, but he frowned when he realized the room before him was empty.

“Hey! Momiji?” he called, still leaning in the window. His frown deepened when no response was forthcoming. “She should be home from school by now.”

He looked at the round, ticking clock on the wall as he shed his red coat, because it was soaked through and heavy, and pushed a hand through his wet hair. A flash of movement caught Kusanagi's eye, the gallop of small, padded feet across the floor reached his ears, but when he turned to look, the room was just as empty as before.

A rumbling sound that was less purr and more like growling erupted from underneath Momiji's bed when Kusanagi put his feet on the floor. He raised his eyebrows at the sound. What is that? He crouched beside the bed to have a look, simply because he was curious.

Two bright yellow-green eyes glared at him from the shadow along the back wall. The threatening hum intensified.

“A cat?” Kusanagi asked the empty room, though he sounded skeptical. He reached his arm under the bed, tapping his fingers on the floor. “Here kitty.”

A mistake.

The kitten screamed and lunged at Kusanagi, bypassing his hand and catching his face with its needle-point claws. Kusanagi shouted, too, and even with his enhanced speed couldn't disentangle himself from the bed, and the cat, quickly enough. He struck his head first on the wood frame of the bed, then his elbow when he jerked his arm away. Yowling angrilly, the tiny kitten clawed his exposed arm, his wrist, his fingers, before Kusanagi managed to escape the floor.

Drawn by the commotion, Mr. Kunukida threw open the door with his feet set apart as though he expected an assualt. He noticed Kusanagi drifting in the upper corner of Momiji's room, sporting several small, trickling deep green lines on his face and arm, and relaxed somewhat.

“Kusanagi,” he said.

Kusanagi scowled at him and didn't reply, his mouth pressed against his wrist, below his thumb, where the scratches were deepest.

“I see you've become aquainted with Momiji's new cat,” Kunukida observed, looking for said beast, a hint of amusement in his voice.

He, too, had a bad first encounter with the cat, and the several red scratches on his hands were proof of that, so he was wary of leaving the doorway. The kitten had retreated back underneath Momiji's bed, for now. It glowered at Kunikida's socked feet the whole while and hummed angrilly at Kusanagi's presense in the room.

“That can't be a normal cat,” Kusanagi commented after a moment.

“Do you think it's Aragami?”

Kusanagi scoffed around his hand.

“No.”

“Well, then it must be a normal cat. They're fickle creatures, really.” Mr. Kunikida paused, then failed in his attempt to stiffle a chuckle. “It really got ahold of you, didn't it?”

Kusanagi scowled again.

“Hey, shut up! It got you, too.”

“But I had the sense to try its patience before letting it at me like that,” Kunikida chuckled.

“Why'd you let Momiji bring that damn thing inside, anyway?” Kusanagi demanded, still nursing his wounds and sour because of it. They wouldn't linger long, but they stung while they did.

It was Mr. Kunikida's turn to frown. He placed his hands on his hips.

“Momiji didn't really take me advice when I talked to her about picking up stray cats,” he said, frowning pointedly at Kusanagi as he floated in the corner.

“Hey, what's that look for any--”

“Mr. Kunikida? I'm home~” Momiji's voice drifted from downstairs.

The sound of the door shutting out the pour of rain followed, then Momiji's footsteps as she quickly climbed the stairs. Underneath the bed, the kitten stirred, its ears swiveling in the direction of Momiji. It darted out from under the bed, an orange streak, just as she reached her bedroom door, “Oh, there you are, Mr. Kunikida!” and then meeowed for her attention as it trotted closer, white-tipped tail twitched. Momiji squeezed the brown bag in her arms, her smile bright as she leaned over the kitten.

“Oh, hello, Mamoru!” she crooned.

The indignant sputtering of Kusanagi in the upper corner drew Momiji's attention next. She looked surprised to see him, while Kunikida turned away to hide his amusement.

“Kusanagi! When did you get here?” Momiji asked, tilting her head.

Kusanagi glared at her and ignored the question.

“That's my name,” he said, and gestured at the cat, “What you called it! That's my name!”

Momiji blinked at him, and little Mamoru wound his orange self around her ankle, purring contentedly.

“Well, I know that,” Momiji laughed, waving her hand. She looked lovingly at the kitten. “I thought he kind of looked like you, and I couldn't think of a better name for him, anyway. Isn't he precious?”

“No, he is not precious,” Kusanagi said, spitting out the word. He pointed. “Look what the monster did to me!”

Momiji took a moment to notice the fast-fading scars on his face and smiled.

“Come on, Kusanagi, you're not gonna begrudge the little guy, are you?” she asked, “You probably just startled him. Maybe if you would use the door every once in a while, you wouldn't have gotten scratched.”

Kusanagi scowled at the stab and thrust out his hand.

“It wasn't just my face, my arm is the worst. Look at this, it's still bleeding and everything, Momiji!”

“Wow!” Momiji said, her eyes widening a little, “Kusanagi, that looks horrible. He really got ahold of you, didn't he? Didn't you have the sense to try his patience first? I mean, seriously.”

Kusanagi's face turned red at that, and darkened when Mr. Kunikida's roaring laughter echoed down the hall. Sitting contentedly at Momiji's feet, Mamoru purred and smiled an accomplished cat-smile. He loved his new home.

--

[A/n] Wow, random Blue Seed. I'm not sure when exactly this takes place in the story line, but it tickled me, so yay! Leave a review and let me know what you think!

-Motcn